Google just made the Fitbit Air even cheaper without cutting a cent off the price

We covered the screenless tracker's debut back in May, when it launched at $99.99 with three months of Google Health Premium included. Nothing about the hardware shifts here, the pebble still handles round-the-clock heart rate, AFib (atrial fibrillation) alerts, blood oxygen and sleep tracking on up to a week of battery.

Why this dents the Oura and Whoop pitch

For shoppers, the math is the story. Pre-tax dollars shave roughly 30% off through tax savings, pulling the real cost of the Air under $70, with the Premium trial still in the box.

Oura and Whoop have allowed pre-tax buying for a while, and at their prices it counted. The Oura Ring 4 starts at $349 plus a monthly membership and Whoop runs on a yearly subscription, so the Air matches the tax perk for far less and with nothing to renew.

Already wear an Oura or a Whoop? Then nothing changes for you, since those still go deeper on recovery data, but anyone who was eyeing one just to burn down an FSA before the deadline now has a much cheaper way to tick the same box.

On Reddit, the r/fitbit thread had early buyers joking they jumped the gun, while one pointed out you can still file your receipt for reimbursement after the fact. Anecdotal, but it matches how most plans handle eligible buys.

How to buy the Fitbit Air with pre-tax dollars

Two routes get you there. The cleanest is buying straight from the Google Store and paying with your HSA or FSA card at checkout.

If the card does not run, or you already own one, the fallback is simple:

1. Pay for the standard Fitbit Air with any card.
2. Keep the order confirmation, which doubles as your receipt.
3. Submit it to your plan provider for reimbursement.

Two quick reminders. Only the standard models qualify, so the Special Edition is out, and eligibility still rides on your individual plan.

Worth your health dollars?

I am still wearing my Fitbit Air, and everything I liked in our two-week review has held up. The battery genuinely lasts, and the no-screen design stopped feeling like a compromise and became the whole point for me.

So would I tell someone to spend pre-tax money on it? At $99.99 with the tax break on top, this is the easiest yes in the budget tracker space, and a smart place to park FSA funds before they expire.

• See how the Air measures up against the budget options worth your money
• Catch up on the messy shift from the Fitbit app to Google Health
• For more hot takes and behind-the-scenes coverage, follow me on X and Threads at @jojothetechie